Senate Bill 197
Damages for frivolous claims
Topics: Attorney, Circuit court, Claims, Court: Appellate, Damage (personal injury)
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
May 7, 2009
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 28, 2010: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Under current law, every document submitted to the court must be signed by a party or, if the party has an attorney, by the attorney. By signing the document, current law provides that the person is certifying that the document is not presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass or cause unnecessary delay, that the claims made in the document are warranted by existing law or a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of the law, that the allegations presented in the document are likely to have evidentiary support, and that any factual denials in the document are warranted by evidence or, if so identified, reasonably based on a lack of information or belief. Currently, if the court determines that any of these certifications are not true, the court may impose an appropriate sanction on the responsible attorney or party. Under current law, the sanction must be limited to what is sufficient to deter repetition of the conduct, and may include payment of the reasonable attorney fees or other expenses resulting from the improper conduct. A court may not impose monetary sanctions upon a represented party for making a claim that is not based on existing law or a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of the law, and before the court imposes any monetary sanctions, the court must issue an order to show cause regarding the dismissal or settlement of the claim.
Under this bill, in civil actions, a party or his or her attorney may be liable for costs and fees for beginning, using, or continuing an action if that is done solely for the purpose of harassing or maliciously injuring another and the party or attorney knew that there was no reasonable basis in law for the conduct or no good faith argument for an extension, modification, or reversal of the law. The bill allows a party to an action to ask the court by motion to determine if another party has violated these provisions, and if, by clear and convincing evidence, the court so finds, the court may do one of the following:
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1. If the offending party withdraws or corrects the improper conduct within 21 days or a time set by the court, award the moving party the actual costs incurred as a result of the conduct, including reasonable attorney fees, taking into consideration the offending party's mitigating conduct.
2. If the offending party does not timely withdraw or correct the improper conduct, award the moving party the actual costs incurred as a result of the conduct, including reasonable attorney fees.
Under the bill, if an award of costs for violating these provisions is affirmed on appeal, the appellate court is required to send the action to the lower court to award the damages necessary to compensate the successful party for the actual reasonable attorney fees incurred in the appeal. In addition, if the appellate court finds that a party has committed a violation of one of these provisions in an appeal, the appellate court must, after completion of the appeal, send the action back to the lower court to award the damages necessary to compensate the offended party for the actual reasonable attorney fees incurred in the appeal.
Who's behind it
7 senators are its . All 7 are Republicans.
17 more lawmakers .
See all 24 names Hide the names
Authors (7)
- Alan Lasee · Republican, Senate
- Alberta Darling · Republican, Senate
- Glenn Grothman · Republican, Senate
- Neal Kedzie · Republican, Senate
- Mary Lazich · Republican, Senate
- Luther S. Olsen · Republican, Senate
- Dale Schultz · Republican, Senate
Signed on in support (17)
- Alvin Ott · Republican, Assembly
- Joan Ballweg · Republican, Senate
- Garey Bies · Republican, Assembly
- Scott Gunderson · Republican, Assembly
- Mark Gundrum · Republican, Assembly
- Steve Kestell · Republican, Assembly
- Dan Knodl · Republican, Assembly
- Daniel LeMahieu · Republican, Assembly
- Thomas Lothian · Republican, Assembly
- Steve Nass · Republican, Senate
- Jerry Petrowski · Republican, Senate
- Richard Spanbauer · Republican, Assembly
- Pat Strachota · Republican, Assembly
- Scott Suder · Republican, Assembly
- Gary Tauchen · Republican, Assembly
- John Townsend · Republican, Assembly
- Robin Vos · Republican, Assembly
What happened
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Apr 28, 2010
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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May 7, 2009
Sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing.
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May 7, 2009
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- May 7, 2009 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Grothman, Olsen, Schultz, A. Lasee, Kedzie, Lazich and Darling;Cosponsored by Representatives Gundrum, Suder, Kestell, LeMahieu, Tauchen, Townsend, Petrowski, Vos, Gunderson, Knodl, Lothian, Bies, Ballweg, Spanbauer, Nass, A. Ott and Strachota
- May 7, 2009 · Senate
Read first time and referred to committee on Judiciary, Corrections, Insurance, Campaign Finance Reform, and Housing
- Apr 28, 2010 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor